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Monday, April 4, 2016

Homemade Sauerkraut

If you're reading HOW NOT TO DIE by Dr. Michael Greger, you might have discovered that he advocates eating raw and fermented foods to create good gut health. But sauerkraut, for example, is pricey in the stores. You could consume a jar in a couple of days! So, why not make it for yourself? No starter necessary!

In my progress shots below, I am making plain, old sauerkraut with green cabbage and salt. You can use shredded carrots, celery, any colored cabbage, etc. There are a lot of YouTube videos out there with people making fermented veggies and seasonings, so that might give you more ideas. This method though really doesn't require anything special to make it.

Here are a few things to think about before you get started...

1) You can buy already shredded veggies if you don't have a food processor. However, the result with freshly shredded veggies makes a premium result.

2) You can use a Kimchi Box for simplicity, though it's not required. You can simply use a ceramic crock with a sealed lid if you own one and press down your veggies with a large piece of cabbage on top (leaving the cabbage piece there throughout the fermentation process.

3) I use Kosher salt, but you could probably use other types of salt.

4) You can add caraway seeds, chili flakes, and other seasonings to your fermented veggies, though I have only made my plain.

So, here's how you make it!

Make sure your crock or Kimchi Box, food processor, bowl to hold the shredded cabbage, your hands, and food scale bowl are VERY clean BEFORE YOU START!

1) Chop cabbage into chunks that will fit in your food processor.
2) Choose the thickness you want for your sauerkraut on your food processor blade.
3) Shred the cabbage in your food processor.
4) Weigh your bowl first to know how heavy it is. Then, weigh your shredded cabbage (subtracting the bowl). You need to know this information to determine how much salt you need.
5) Weigh out 1% of the cabbage weight in salt. For example, my shredded cabbage weighed about 3 lbs (48 ounces). So, I used about a 1/2 ounce of salt, which equates to about 3 t. or 1 T of salt.
6) Wash your hands well and massage the salt into the cabbage for about 15 minutes. This will create a brine and "wilt" the cabbage.
7) Place the massaged cabbage into your crock or Kimchi Box.
8) Put on the top of the Kimchi Box or place the large piece of cabbage reserved for this purpose on top.
9) Press down the top (or use your fist to press all of the air out of your crock of kraut) to remove all of the air. Seal it with the tab closure.
10) Close the top of the Kimchi box (or close the top of your crock) and store in a dark location (like a pantry) for about 4-5 days. Taste test to see if the flavor is how you like it. You can add more fermentation days if needed.

Chop cabbage into chunks that will fit in .your food processor.

Choose the thickness you want for your sauerkraut on your food processor blade.

Shred the cabbage in your food processor.

Weigh your bowl first to know how heavy it is. Then, weigh your shredded cabbage (subtracting the bowl). You need to know this information to determine how much salt you need.

Weigh out 1% of the cabbage weight in salt.

Wash your hands well and massage the salt into the cabbage for about 15 minutes. This will create a brine and "wilt" the cabbage.

Place the massaged cabbage into your crock or Kimchi Box.

Put on the top of the Kimchi Box or the large piece of cabbage reserved for this purpose.

Press down the top (or use your fist to press all of the air out of your crock of kraut) to remove all of the air. Seal it with the tab closure.

Close the top of the Kimchi box (or close the top of your crock) and store in a dark location (like a pantry) for about 4-5 days. Taste test to see if the flavor is how you like it. You can add more fermentation days if needed.

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